It had been weeks since the party. Scorpius had never gained the courage to go up to Melinda, and now she was all he seemed to think about. He had caught glimpses of her throughout the rest of the party, but she had always been with Rose. Scorpius did not know the young Weasley well enough to have an excuse to talk to her and thus get introduced to her friend.

After arriving back at Hogwarts, Scorpius had been looking for the Ravenclaw girl. He checked his classes, he looked around the halls, and he checked at meal times. He didn't have a class with the Ravenclaws, so he had no luck there. Every once in awhile, he would spot her in the halls but his best bet was at dinner.

Of course, that didn't mean he had a chance to talk to her there. First off, despite his friendships with Lily, Scorpius never left his Slytherin table. You just didn't sit down at another table. Melinda also seemed to be surrounded by people…all the time. Didn't she ever get sick of all those damn people?

To make matters worse, Lily knew something was up. She had noticed his lack of concentration during their talks and his preoccupation for scanning the crowds. Lily knew Melinda, she was Rose's friend after all. He just hadn't thought of a way to bring up the subject. He needed to be subtle; he certainly didn't need Lily giving him a hard time over a girl.

The two were enjoying the Saturday morning sun. Lily had on her heated cloak and they sat under Scorpius' heated blanket. It was perfect. He glanced down at her sketch book and a thought hit him.

"So, Lils, did you get some sketching done at the party? I know you were talking about not seeing the whole family together very often."

Lily didn't even look up from her book. Her brows came down as she stared at her book. It was the look of concentration he saw on her face often. It was a look he associated as uniquely Lily.

"I filled about half my book. Most are just rough sketches, but I think I got some great ideas started."

He made sure his face revealed nothing. "Would you mind if I took a look?"

She looked up this time, giving him a searching look. He had been sitting with her for months now, and he knew that she did not like to show anyone her work unless it was finished. In fact, she very rarely showed anyone her sketches. Scorpius had seen almost all of it though. Over Christmas, he had seen her room. She had tons of little sketch books. It had been amazing to see. She hesitated, but finally rummaged in her bag, pulling out a book.

"I guess."

Scorpius began to flip through. For a moment, he forgot why he had asked to see the book. Even the rough sketches seemed to have a life. He could almost see them moving across the page. He saw a picture of Albus reading a book with Rosie. There was a sketch of her parents relaxing on the couch. James and Teddy were laughing at a joke someone was telling. He remembered these scenes, and he could picture himself back in the warm living room surrounded by the people.

There were even sketches of him. There he was on his broom, and sitting by the fire. There was even a sketch of him talking to Harry. He looked in amazement, "Even after months, you still amaze me. These are great."

He looked through more pages, not noticing Lily's slight blush. He turned a page, and there it was. OK, he had to be cool, and calm. He could pull this off. "I really like this one of Rose. You know, I know almost all of the people with her. I mean, there's her friend…ummm…well I forget her name."

Lily glanced at the book. "That's Melinda Jacobs"

"Oh, yes now I remember. You told me about her. She's a Hufflepuff I think you said."

Lily gave him a look, "Ravenclaw."

OK, maybe he was acting a little too dumb. "So how long has Rose been friends with her?"

"A few years. Like I said, Mel's dad works with my mum at the paper. He is an editor."

"Oh, so you must know her too."

Lily actually put down her sketch pad. She rolled her eyes at him. "God, you are so obvious. If you want to know about her, just ask."

"No, I…well...umm." He looked at Lily. She was staring at him with an exasperated look. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. He gave up. He couldn't believe he thought he could fool her for a second. He grinned sheepishly. "Was I really that obvious?"

"Not until you stared asking all the questions." She uncrossed her arms and laughed. "Honestly, you boys are so dense. At least the vacant look makes sense now."

"What vacant look?"

"The love sick puppy look you have had for weeks."

He adopted an injured look, "I have not had a puppy love look!" He gave a wink, "Well, maybe a small one."

She laughed again. "OK, what can I tell you about her?"

"Everything you know, but you can start with boyfriend or not?"

"No, as far as I know she isn't dating anyone. She is an only child. She is really smart, but loves a good joke. Her favorite color is blue, she loves roses, and she loves to read by the fire. She had her birthday last October. Mel is a potions geek, and she really loves all kinds of animals. She has a pet cat named Smoochie. Does that give you a start?"

"I think so, thanks."

"Great, now can we move on for the day? You interrupted my flow."

Scorpius laughed and settled back down. Now his only problem was meeting Melinda Jacobs.

XXXXXXXXX

Another two weeks went by, and he was no closer to meeting the elusive brunette. Lily had taken to asking him every day whether or not he had made his move. It was now half way into February, and it was starting to get annoying. It was made worse by the devious little twinkle in her eyes every time she asked him about his little puppy crush.

Honestly, she looked like she was getting annoyed with his lack of action too. They were sitting in class, writing to each other on the two way parchment.

What class are you in, Lily?

History of Magic. Lord, I think he gets more boring every day.

Yeah, he never gets any better. Defense is all lecture today so it is just as bad.

I'd rather be there. So any news on the love of your life.

Har har. Anyone told you how funny you are? You should take it on the road.

I know, I am rather hilarious, but if I took it on the road, you would miss me. You still didn't answer my question.

That's because you always know the answer. Nothing.

Why are you taking so long?

Scorpius thought about it for a second. Then he decided that a little honesty was in order. Maybe that would get her off his back for a little while.

Because I don't know what to do to start a conversation with a girl. I don't know how to talk to girls.

You talk to me.

You're not a girl, you're Lily. The minute he wrote it, he knew it was the wrong thing. B Maybe humor would get him out of this.

Excuse me? What the hell do you think I am then?

My friend. That makes you asexual.

Thank you so much. So I am an asexual being, I must know nothing about talking to either sex. I mean, it would be too much to ask for my help in the area of girls, because I am not one.

That wasn't what I meant. OK, so humor had not been the way to go. Time to move onto apology.

Whatever. You can be a right arse Scor.

Look, I'm sorry. That came out wrong. You are a beautiful, intelligent girl and I should be on my knees begging for your help oh glorious one.

A little over the top, but at least you are finally accepting my superiority. Meet me in the library after dinner. I may just impart some wisdom.

Scorpius laughed softly to himself. The nice thing about Lily was that she didn't get mad. Sure, he had irritated her, but she had accepted his apology and moved on. He turned back to the lecture and waited for dinner.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

In the library, Scorpius sat twiddling his thumbs. She was late. She knew how he hated to wait, so this must be punishment for calling her asexual. Wrong move. Ten more minutes passed and he was getting pissed. He heard a footstep and turned to give Lily a piece of his mind.

He turned to come face to face with Melinda Jacobs. Lily was close behind.

"Mel, I want you to meet Scorpius Malfoy. He thinks you are hot." Scorpius gave her a death glare. How embarrassing. Lily just winked and continued. "Scor, this is Melinda Jacobs, she has a thing for blondes. Have fun you two." Lily was gone.

Melinda was laughing. "Nice to meet you Scor. Sorry about Lils. She does like to give out the facts. I do like blondes."

Scorpius was pulled from his thoughts of killing Lily. All of a sudden, he was ready to throw her a party. "Yeah, well, she's alright. It's nice to meet you."

He couldn't remember a better time in the library.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Scorpius was again in the library. He was sitting with Lily. "I don't know how to thank you Lils. She is wonderful, we just talked forever. I am going with her to the next Hogsmeade trip."

He had regaled her with every detail of Melinda Jacobs and he was sure she was sick of hearing the name, but he couldn't help it. It had been wonderful.

"Don't mention it…really. If you want to thank me, don't mention it again for at least 24 hours, OK?"

"OK. I promise."

They began to talk quietly about classes and small talk. Neither noticed the figure standing behind a few rows of books, nor the wand that was out.

Lily and Scorpius stood to leave. Scorpius was waiting at the end of an aisle of books, waiting for Lily when he heard what sounded like a muttered spell. All of a sudden, books started flying off the shelves. The shelves began to sway and tip. Lily looked up and screamed.

"Lily! Move!" He ran towards her, but there was a sickening crunch and the book shelves collapsed. When the dust settled, Lily Potter was buried beneath an avalanche of books and shelves.